Improvement in cultivators



J. L. ELLIS.

Wheel-Cultivator.

No. 36,945. v Patented Nov. 18, 1862.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Jot-In L. nLLIs, or oonoonn, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CULTIVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 36,945, dated November18, 1862.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that. I, JOHN L. ELLIS, of Conoord, in the county of Morganand State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Corn Plow orCultivator; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a side sectional view of my invention, taken in the line asm, Fig. 2, Fig.2, a transverse vertical section of the same, taken inthe line as 00, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a horizontal section of a portion of thesame, taken in the line I y, Fig. 2.

Simdar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention consists in a novel and improved construction of a cornplow or cultivator, as hereinafter fully shown and described, wherebythe device may be drawn along and made to perform its work withoutbreaking down or injuring the growing plants, and at the same time becapable of having its shovels or shares operated or adjusted at the willof the driver, so as to be elevated above the surface of the ground whennecessary, as in turning the device at the ends of rows, and alsocapable of being moved while at work toward and from the plants, ascircumstances may require.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents what may be termed the main frame of the machine, and iscomposed of two parallel side bars, a a, connected by two trans versebars, B B, formed each of two parts, b c, the parts I) being straightand framed into the bars a a at right angles, and the parts 0 being bentupward at their centers, so as to be sufficiently elevated to pass overthe plants without touching them. The ends or outer parts of e have ahorizontal position, and are firmly bolted to the upper surfaces of theparts b, as shown in Fig. 2. The parts 0 of the transverse bars B are ofmetal. The other parts of the main frame may be of wood.

0 0 represent two rock-shafts, the journals of which are fitted in theparts I) of the transverse bars B, near the ends of the former. Theserock-shafts are parallel with each other, and each has an upright, 1),attached to it at right angles. The upper ends of the uprights D D areconnected by a cross-bar, E, the ends of which are provided with tenonsd 01, said tenons passing loosely through mortises in the upper partsofthe uprightsD and secured therein by pinsf.

To each rock-shaft O 0 there is attached a shovel or share, F, which maybe of any suitable form, and to the lower end of each upright D there isattached a shield or guard, G, which is of curved form, the longitudinalsection of a hollow cylinder. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) These shields orguards are at the inner sides of the shovels or shares F, and theirconcave surfaces face inward or toward each other, as shown clearly inFig. 2.

H represents the draft-pole of the machine, the inner part of which isattached to the centers of the parts 0 of the transverse bars B B, andto the draft-pole the front end of a lever, 1,-is attached by apivot orjoint connection of any suitable kind, said lever extending backward, soas to be over the drivers seat J, which is placed on two bars, K K,which are curved upward at their centers, so as to be as high as theupper parts of the parts 0 of the transverse bars B. The ends of thecurved-bars K K are secured to two parallel bars, L L, the front ends ofwhich are connected by pivots g to the back parts of the bars a a of themain frame A, and the front bar K has wheels M attached to its ends.

To the under side of the draft-pole H, at its back part, there isattached a double-tree, N, having a cord or chain, 0, secured to eachend of it, and these cords or chains pass underneath pulleys P, attachedto the front ends of the bars a a, each cord or chain having awhitfletree, Q, secured to its ends.

The operation is as follows: The device is drawn along directly over arow of plants, the horses walking in the spaces, one at each side of therow. The driver'from his seat J, by actuating the lever I, may move orswing the shovels or shares F and also the shields or guards G either tothe right or left, in order that they may conform to the sinuosities ofthe rows, and the shovels or shares may be elevated entirely above theground, when necessary, by the driver turning his weight back on theseat J, the front ends of the bars L L being thereby elevated, andconsequently the main frame A.

To the back part of each bar a of the main frame A there is attached bya suitable standard a shovel or share, R, and these shovels or shareswork between the rows of plants.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecured by Letters Patent, is-

The rock-shafts O G, uprights D D, connected at their upper ends by thebar E, and the lever I, said parts being applied to the main frame A,provided with curved transverse bars 13 B, in combination with thesupplemental frame composed of the parallel bars L L and curvedtransverse bars KK, with the drivers seat J attached, the supplementalframe being mounted on wheels connected to the main frame, and allarranged to operate as and for the purpose set forth.

JOHN L. ELLIS. Witnesses:

THOMAS B. WOOFF, DANSON REYNOLDS.

